Kansas City Mother Battles Hospital To Regain Custody Of Son

Michelle Rider, a woman from Kansas City, Mo., is currently at odds with a Chicago hospital because her 16-year-old son was placed in temporary protective custody after the mom was accused of medical child abuse, reports The Blaze.

Her son is diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, a ”genetic disorder that disturbs cell growth in your nervous system, causing tumors to form on nerve tissue. These tumors may develop anywhere in your nervous system, including in your brain, spinal cord and nerves.”

Rider’s son was being treated at Lurie Children’s Hospital, where he had a few surgeries that removed tumors in parts of his body. However, the tumors began to reappear and the hospital did not take quick action, which got Michelle upset. She and the doctors argued over giving the 16-year-old sedatives, but the doctors ignored her request.

Eventually, Ms. Rider decided to look into transferring her son to Boston Children’s Hospital, which he used to attend and where he was treated fairly well. Weirdly enough, Boston Children’s Hospital was where the Pelletier Case occurred. Once she found about the case, she decided to reconsider.

The Lurie Children’s Hospital then pulled a Pelletier when they claimed that Rider’s son had characteristics of “medical child abuse.” Her child was taken then away from her, and she could not see him for almost a month. The hospital claimed that Rider was not aiding her son’s treatment by arguing with doctors and continuously moving her son from hospital to hospital.

Her son is currently in a foster home. It was said that he was thankful to be away from his mother because she caused him stress, but he later said he doesn’t recall saying that.

Michelle Rider claims to have gotten a number of emails from parents saying that their children were also labeled as “medically abused.” A few of the letters were even from the same hospital Rider is currently fighting her son for.